Land Value Taxation bar all others!

Land Value Taxation bar all others!
In a recent article, we declared that land is an inalienable birthright and gave historical references to support our position. This post was prompted by a recent article in the Daily Nation found HERE. In summary, the article aired the grievances of Malindi District farmers who opposed a 2 % valuation of their land as a tax to be paid to the local council. They worried about the clause that said defaulters land would be seized and sold.
We will introduce the reader to Land Value Taxation, its benefits and its application to the Kenyan situation.
What is Land Value Taxation?
Land Value Taxation is a method of raising public revenue by means of an annual tax on the rental value of commercial, agricultural and idle land from owners with clear titles. It would replace, not add to, existing taxes. The value of every piece of land would go through a yearly assessment process and a land value tax would be levied as a percentage of those assessed values.
"Land" means the site alone, not counting any improvements. The value of buildings, crops, drainage or any other works which people have erected or carried out on each plot of land would be ignored, a vacant site in a row of houses would be assessed at the same value as the adjacent sites occupied by houses.
Ours is but a simple explanation. There are numerous sources of information on Land Value Taxation. We urge the reader to become more informed and invite them to join the discussion so as to add to the knowledge base.
The advantages...
• A NATURAL SOURCE OF PUBLIC REVENUE. All land makes its full contribution to the local Council or other body, allowing reductions in existing taxes on labor and enterprise.
• A STRONGER ECONOMY. If we tax labor, buildings or machinery and plant, we discourage people from constructive and beneficial activities and penalize enterprise and efficiency. Manufacturers in turn pass on these taxes as higher prices to consumers thereby reducing their buying power.
• The reverse is the case with a tax on land values, which is payable regardless of whether or how well the land is actually used. It is a payment, based on current market value, for the exclusive occupation of a piece of land
• A MORE EFFICIENT LAND MARKET. The necessity to pay the tax obliges landowners to develop vacant and under-used land properly or to make way for others who will. The tax on land value penalizes land speculation and rewards development.
• NO AVOIDANCE OR EVASION. Land cannot be hidden, removed to a tax haven or concealed in an electronic data system.
How would we implement it?
We would like suggest a panel made up of government officials, members of civil society, surveyors and economists to be the assessors and administrators of this Land Value Tax. There would probably be a panel for every province and they would assess land values district by district
They would meet in an open forum to present their figures. They would take suggestions from local residents as to what public projects would be given priority. A subsequent meeting would deal with how well the projects or services were implemented. Local residents would give feedback on the work done by the panel and members found wanting would be dismissed. All books would be available for public perusal.
It may be difficult to ascertain or trace ownership of land. We would not want the burden to fall on business renters or farmers who have leased land for commercial ventures
Conclusion
This is a daunting task ahead of us. It will be met with resistance from large land owners who have acquired idle land (through legal and illegal means) which they later resell at a profit gained from no exertion of their own on the land.
If well implemented, this tax would pay for many essential services such as education, security, infrastructure and medical services. Kenyans regardless of their station in life would be availed services essential to their well being and growth.
In addition we would collect taxes on all wealth originating from the land such as minerals, forestry products and fish from our lakes among others. Also any commercial activities harming the land or environment would be taxed. Examples include but are not limited to: the oil refining industry, polluting factories that spew waste into our water systems, factories that pollute the air and disposal firms that make use of landfills.
The issue of land has always been a contentious one in Kenya. Hopefully this new system will reward entrepreneurship and curb land speculation while prudently utilizing earth’s resources for our betterment and leave a legacy for future generations.
As usual we invite reader comments and suggestions